SADIE JEMMETT – The Blacksmiths’ Girl

WILDFLOWER★★★

Classy launch for late-starting Brit singer-songwriter

Jemmett had been singing her candid lyrics and folk-tinged melodies for a decade before a gig supporting Judy Collins landed a contract with the American legend’s label. Sung in a rich voice to simple guitar/dulcimer/keyboard arrangements, songs such as “Making Sense”, “Ghosts” and “So I Begin” are confessional and cathartic but there’s an indomitable spirit that means they never stray into self-pity. Guest producer Ed Harcourt lends a fuller sound to the uplifting “Up On The Heath” and if a cover of Joni’s “River” seems over obvious, the stereotyping is delightfully sabotaged with a brilliantly improbable take on the Buzzcock’s “Ever Fallen In Love”, rendered as a deathless folk ballad.